WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

Cherry Audio unearths an obscure ‘70s Italian gem. This is the kind of forgotten, half-mythical synth you discover by accident on a forum thread.

Adding to its ever-growing catalogue of vintage synth emulations, Cherry Audio has announced the release of DS-2, a software recreation of the Crumar DS-2, a “wonderfully odd” Italian synth released in 1978.

Following last year’s take on the cult classic Crumar Spirit, Cherry Audio has revived a lesser-known instrument in the Crumar line-up released several years prior.

This latest collaboration with Crumar Instruments not only captures the distinctive tone and multitimbral capabilities of the original but also enhances them, offering an impressive combination of innovation and authenticity.

The DS-2 brought together two separate synth engines – a dual-oscillator monophonic Synth section and a paraphonic Poly section with divide-down oscillators – that could be layered to create lush, harmonically rich patches. The “DS” in its name stood for “Digital Synthesizer,” one of the first synths to employ DCOs (digitally controlled oscillators) it produced unique stair-stepped waveforms that gave the DS-2 a distinctively gritty sonic character.

Cherry Audio has introduced a number of modern enhancements to bring DS-2 into the 21st century. The Synth section has been equipped with polyphonic functionality, unison and multi-voice modes, and oscillator sync, and there’s now a keyboard split mode for dividing both sections across the keyboard.

The DS-2 already had some interesting modulation capabilities thanks to the stepped ‘staircase’ waveform available to its LFOs, but Cherry Audio has expanded these with the addition of a third LFO and a five-part LFO mixer that offers six assignable destinations with 33 options each.

The DS-2’s ADSR envelopes have also been enhanced with an additional delay stage, looping functionality and velocity sensitivity. Alongside an emulation of the original synth’s 24dB 4-pole filter, Cherry Audio has included a 12dB 2-pole option for extra flexibility.

While the original DS-2 offered no effects, Cherry Audio have added a dedicated five-slot effects chain for both synth engines, alongside a global effects chain on the output. These can be populated with a generous selection of 20 effects spanning delays, reverbs, distortion, EQ, and modulation effects.

“The DS-2 isn’t one of those era-defining classics with presets you’ve heard on radio staples and retro playlists,” reads a statement from Cherry Audio. “Not even close. This is the kind of forgotten, half-mythical synth you discover by accident on a forum thread populated by sleep-deprived gear archaeologists.

“It’s the kind of white whale instrument that synth nerds obsess over and argue about for no other reason than it exists, it’s rare, and it doesn’t sound like anything tidy, modern, or even remotely approved of by the internet.”

“It’s neither the glassy, polished sound of later digital synths nor the rounded, buttery sound we associate with classic analog designs. The DS-2’s tone has a more jagged, harmonically edgy quality, with a gritty, slightly stepped character that gives it a sound all its own.”

Cherry Audio’s Crumar DS-2 is priced at $59 and available for macOS and Windows in AU/VST/VST3/AAX formats. A free 30-day demo is available.

Find out more on Cherry Audio website.

SOMA Laboratory, in collaboration with The Midium and the SOMA US Division, has introduced the PULSAR-23: 1984, a limited-edition variation on Vlad Kreimer‘s organismic drum machine design.

The PULSAR-23: 1984 features an unpainted steel chassis with black trim and red lights that they say “harken to a dystopian time”. In addition, the bass circuits have been customized with expanded range, a filter inspired by Polivoks synthesizer and more.

Here’s what they have to say about it:

The idea for the “1984” edition, it was decided, would also come with a typewritten certificate of authenticity inspired by a time before computers were affordable… a time when expression is not free… and when analog instruments were beginning to disappear. As it was, the folks at SOMA Laboratory, which include the first US-based engineer to partner with SOMA Laboratory on such a project, Noah Jolly, and leader of the SOMA Laboratory US Division Kevin Flynn, had already been testing experimental circuits for the PULSAR-23 organismic drum machine for some time.

Part of the reasoning for both teams bringing these ideas together had to do with SOMA Laboratory’s experimental circuits. They present new functions while being inspired by the Formanta Polivoks: a classic analog synthesizer renowned for its tone that was in production in 1984. The Polivoks, in fact, was born in 1982 and lived on through the waning years of the Soviet Union, until 1990. So, the SOMA Laboratory PULSAR-23 1984 Edition marries new designs developed by Jolly and Flynn with inspiration from a period in synthesizer history consisting of a range of innovations that defined musical genres that continue to influence music today.

After all testing was completed, SOMA Laboratory began production in earnest. With all units built to serve the art and creativity of those who choose these synthesizers and drum machines for their work, each SOMA Laboratory PULSAR-23 1984 Edition stands as a testament to the craftsmanship, engineering prowess, and spiritual essence that goes into every instrument SOMA Laboratory creates. These are special and unique instruments, and a limited run, so please note that they are final sale. Only 84 of them will ever be made for the US sector.

In addition to its aesthetics, these features are unique to the 1984 Edition:

• The Bass drum uses a different oscillator design that produces an asymmetrically clipped triangle wave the can be overdriven to a square wave with the Drive knob
• The Tune knob range has been expanded, and the OMG pin is now an AC-coupled FM input
• The Bass oscillator’s filter is a new design inspired by the Polivoks synthesizer and uses the same integrated circuits as the Polivoks filter

The 1984 PULSAR-23 Limited Edition is available now to pre-order for $2,599 USD.

Augmatic GRE is a new algorithmic drum pattern generator, inspired by the Mutable Instruments Grids Eurorack module and expanded with a Euclidean engine.

According to the developer, GRE “lets you effortlessly blend total randomness and perfectly locked loops.” Drum fills, breaks, variations, flams, evolving grooves – what normally takes tedious manual sequencing – can be done live, with a single sweep of a slider.

Previously available only as AUv3 on iPad, iPhone and Mac, Augmatic GRE is now available as a VST3 plugin for all major DAWs on Windows PC and Mac.

Features:

• 6 Algorithmic Channels – Bass drum, snare, hi-hat, plus accents which create complementary rhythms, not duplicates. Each channel can generate its own rhythmic voice for rich, layered drum patterns.
• Topographic Engine – Morphable, evolving beats based on the Mutable Instruments Grids Eurorack module. Navigate an X/Y map of interconnected drum patterns extracted from actual drum loops with smooth interpolation between patterns.
• Euclidean Engine – generate evenly distributed, world?inspired rhythm patterns. Configure steps, hits, and start position independently on each channel for precise control.
• Blend Control – Crossfade between Topographic and Euclidean patterns to introduce variation while preserving the core character of your groove.
• Linear Drumming – Control which drums play together or play alone. Each sound has room to breathe. Creates clean, articulate patterns. Used in Hip-Hop, IDM, Funk, Fusion.
• Velocity Bender – Shape velocity dynamics for a more expressive, dynamic pulse. Create ghost notes, and rhythmic emphasis that bring patterns to life.
• Groove Tools – Swing, humanization, clock division, and timing shift. Fine-tune the feel of your patterns from tight and mechanical to loose and human.

Augmatic GRE is available now, with an intro price of $19.99 for Mac & Windows, and $9.99 for iOS.